Chronic unilateral hemisection (HX) of the adult rat spinal cord diminishes conduction through intact fibers in the ventrolateral funiculus (VLF) contralateral to HX. Intraspinal injections of Chondroitinase-ABC, known to digest chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) in the vicinity of injury, prevented this decline of axonal conduction. This was associated with improved locomotor function. ...

It has been shown that the immunophilin ligands have the special advantage in spinal cord repair. In this study, the effects of cyclosporine A (CsA) on functional recovery and histological outcome were evaluated following spinal cord injury in rats. After spinal cord hemisection in thirty six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats (200- 250 g), treatment groups received CsA (2.5 mg/kg i.p.) at 15min ...

Failure of axon regeneration in the mammalian CNS is attributable in part to the presence of various inhibitory molecules, including myelin-associated proteins and proteoglycans enriched in glial scars. Here, we evaluate whether axon guidance molecules also regulate regenerative growth after injury in adulthood. Wnts are a large family of axon guidance molecules that can attract ascending axons...

After spinal cord injury, enzymatic digestion of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans promotes axonal regeneration of central nervous system neurons across the lesion scar. We examined whether chondroitinase ABC (ChABC) promotes the axonal regeneration of rubrospinal tract (RST) neurons following injury to the spinal cord. The effect of a GSK-3beta inhibitor, lithium chloride (LiCl), on the regene...

Although most spinal cord injuries (SCI) are anatomically incomplete, only limited functional recovery has been observed in people and rats with partial lesions. To address why surviving fibers cannot mediate more complete recovery, it is important to evaluate the physiological and anatomical status of spared fibers. These experiments require use of animal models. Here we describe a midthoracic...

background: spinal cord has a limited capacity to repair therefore, medical interventions are necessary for treatment of injuries. transplantation of schwann cells has shown a great promising result for spinal cord injury (sci). however, harvesting schwann cell has been limited due to donor morbidity and limited expansion capacity. furthermore, accessible sources such as bone marrow stem cells ...

Chondroitinase-ABC (ChABC) was applied to a cervical level 5 (C5) dorsal quadrant aspiration cavity of the adult rat spinal cord to degrade the local accumulation of inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. The intent was to enhance the extension of regenerated axons from the distal end of a peripheral nerve (PN) graft back into the C5 spinal cord, having bypassed a hemisection lesion at C...

Macro-sieve electrodes were implanted in the sciatic nerve of five adult male Lewis rats following spinal cord injury to assess the ability of the macro-sieve electrode to interface regenerated peripheral nerve fibers post-spinal cord injury. Each spinal cord injury was performed via right lateral hemisection of the cord at the T9-10 site. Five months post-implantation, the ability of the macro...

Chondroitinase-ABC (ChABC) was applied to a cervical level 5 (C5) dorsal quadrant aspiration cavity of the adult rat spinal cord to degrade the local accumulation of inhibitory chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans. The intent was to enhance the extension of regenerated axons from the distal end of a peripheral nerve (PN) graft back into the C5 spinal cord, having bypassed a hemisection lesion at C...

UNLABELLED Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid that is essential in brain development and has structural and signaling roles. Acute DHA administration is neuroprotective and promotes functional recovery in animal models of adult spinal cord injury (SCI). However, the mechanisms underlying this recovery have not been fully characterized. Here we investigated the effec...